Never Stop Exploring

Never stop exploring! I believe that is the current tag line for Northface clothing. It is a slogan that captures me well! I have always love to see new places, explore new ways of doing things, taste new foods, meet people from other countries, etc. I definitely inherited a traveling bug and a desire to explore this big blue globe we live on called planet earth.

My wife says I should have been a gourmet chef because I love experimenting with different spices & foods. Give me some meat, some veggies, some spices, a frying pan or a grill and I'll do my best at creative cooking. I'm generally not afraid to try new things and in some ways building a blog is doing exactly that. I just revised my personal homepage & replaced my mega pictures with thumbnails linking to bigger pictures. I'm spoiled by high speed and realize not everyone (including myself) is patient enough to download a picture for 30 minutes.

My daughter Chelsea loves to explore. Today she wandered over to the neighbors yard to make use of their slide. (She has an open invitation to use their slide & swingset which she definitely makes use of! In return - our sandbox has always been available to our neighbors' kids.) Chelsea decided that using the ladder to the slide was too boring. Instead she decided to climb the sliding portion of the slide. Amazingly, after about 15 attempts she ends up accomplishing her challenge! In the words of my precious two & 1/2 year old, "Daddy - look at me! I did it!" She just climbed her Everest!

What are the mountains you want to climb? Why are we so afraid to try new things or face struggle head on? Why don't we stick to challenges like a two year old can?

I recently got back from a backpacking trip on the Mantario trail. It is a grueling 60 km trail that definitely tests strength, endurance & will power. It is amazing what a burden a fifty pound backpack is. Not only do you feel like a packhorse, it throws off your balance and each step has to be carefully placed. But wow - it feels like you are walking on the moon after your pack off after a day of hiking. A person's attitude to the challenge makes such a difference. Time and time again I have seen negativity erode people's ambition & drive.

During the trials we face - it is so easy to despair, to give up, to complain. But once we've passed through - it is so natural to rejoice, to praise God, to experience euphoria & accomplishment. It is the difference between a morning of cold rain and afternoon sunshine!

I remember jumping out of an airplane at 3000 feet - this is absolutely insane was the thought in my mind. What am I doing this for? As I let go of the airplane's strut - I literally dropped hundreds of feet before my chute opened up! I have to admit it was probably the first time in my life when I swore & prayed at the same time. But once that parachute opened up I was praising the Creator! What a contrast - of falling at speeds of well over a hundred miles an hour to that of a leaf dropping from a tree. So peaceful, so calm, so beautiful...

I will close this post with the wise words of Dr. Suess....

"Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So get on your way!"

G